When I started elementary school, the pencils issued to first graders (no kindergarten where I lived back then) were slightly larger in diameter and fully round, had no eraser, were painted blue, and had a thicker graphite core. Progressing to the standard yellow pencil was an achievement.
I can believe that it was originally made to reflect Chinese quality graphite, but I think the real reason it caught on is because it makes the pencil easy to find. Almost nothing else is yellow in our houses or offices (both then and now), so when you're looking for a pencil, it clearly stands out. Also, I believe it was probably the inspiration for the yellow (American) school bus.
I grew up in Europe and I never saw yellow pencils. In the UK, the nicer pencils were dark green. I never really saw yellow pencils until I came to the USA. To me, yellow pencils are an American thing.
I once accidentally received a book in a membership program. It was called "The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance." I thought pencils were going to be a metaphor, but all 448 pages of small print were actually about the pencil. It was fascinating, actually.
Thanks for having some left handed people in the video. The number 2 pencil is the bane of pencils for us lefties. The soft lead smears as our hand passes over what we have just written.
Not all pencils are made equal. Ticonderoga is a high quality pencil on my list. Some seem to fall apart when trying to sharpen them. Don't judge a pencil by its skin. Rather judge a quality pencil by its character.
I never realized this until watching your video made me think of it… Traditional American school buses are also almost the same shade of yellow. The same symbolism for the pencils also work for school buses - invoking trust, quality, hopefulness, positivity.
25 years ago my daughter’s math teacher told her class all pencils are number 2 unless labeled otherwise. That’s good to know if you have take a test using a scantron form that will only allow a number 2 pencil.
The traditional pencils that I have used, in my nearly 60 years I've never been yellow, because in Australia predominantly it has been the market for the Staedtler Tradition Graphite Pencils, which are red. Now when I do use a pencil, it is a clutch pencil, which is blue. Yellow pencils must be an American thing.
So fun! I was an old school film animator, and the Dixon Ticonderoga #2 Soft was my weapon of choice. The Pink-Pearl erasure on the end blended and mottled graphite much better than a white plastic one. I loved the specific yellow so much I once painted a bicycle with the exact PMS color and stickered “DIXON” on the down-tube.
Thanks for the very interesting info! I've used these yellow pencils ever since grade school in the 1950s and as a professional artist,former retired NYC fashion illustrator, and now painter. And I still buy Koh-i-Noor art supplies from time to time! That eraser on the end comes in handy! ✏✏✏🎨🖌
There are different types of wood and graphite used in modern pencils. You can feel the difference in the wood when sharpening the pencil. What I consider a substandard wood is hard to sharpen and fragments quite a bit as it peels off. The better wood can be sliced off in very long curls, like peeling an apple with a knife. Likewise, the less good graphite is harder and often doesn't lay down darkly. The better graphite does lay down a very dark line. I've always found the harder wood and graphite in cheap pencils bought at dollar stores.
Fun fact: Koh I Noor in my country (Argentina) is a brand that produces household electric appliances (fridges, washing machines, etc), and it's very well known for a product in particular, so much so the brand itself became the standard name for it: A rotary, top-loading clothesdryer.
The one thing that is agreed upon is that in the late 1800s, when people started painting pencils, the finest graphite in the world was coming from China. And so yellow became a color that was associated with a pencil because it was a way of indicating that your pencil was made with superior Chinese graphite.Apr 15, 2020
Here in Germany one of the largest brands's pencils (Faber-Castell, yes, that Eberhard Faber I think) are dark green. Another brand's pencils\ sides are alternating red and gold. Most pencils have a hexagonal cross section. These days raw wood is pretty popular. Pencils in Germany are called Bleistift, Blei meaning lead. The explanation I've read is that lead was used for pencils before graphite. No idea if that's actually true. At the same time I kinda doubt lead and graphite were ever confused as lead (11.35 g/cm³) is several times denser than graphite (2.26 g/cm³).
When my oldest son started first grade the nun who taught him would charge kids 3 ¢ to rent a pencil for one day. Was a great teaching aide. My son told me after the first week or two a first grader seldom forgot to have two sharpened #2 pencils. Thought kids accountability. Years later I found out at the end of the year she donated the pencil rent money to a local orphanage.
Great and informative video! I knew of Koch-I-Noor from my high school days (1970’s) in drafting class. Koh-I-Noor technical pens were considered the top tier brand, and if someone (their parents!) had the money getting their large set in the round display stand was the pinnacle of tech pens. A step down was Rotring brand which most of us had. I checked on the Blick art supplies web site and they still have these, although I am not sure who would still go through the hassle of using them (and maintaining them so the ink doesn’t dry up).
When I taught inner city high school I kept a supply of those colorful pencils they give away at events and conventions. I realized the kids didn’t want to be seen outside the classroom with those. Yellow was the only color they would keep.
Pencils need to ditch the pink erasers. All those do is tear up the paper. Years ago I tried the white erasers. What a difference. I never use the pink ones any more.
I never wondered why pencils were yellow, and I'm a little disappointed in myself by that. Maybe yellow just seemed that perfect? Anyway, I am glad to say that I know now.
I had heard that at one time, the bright yellow was due to lead chromate (which is yellow) and that was why they were called lead pencils. I had my doubts.
Faber-Castell pencils are/were usually green, so when you dropped them on the grass it took a long time to find them again! As a student doing fieldwork, this happened to me and I sent 2 hours searching for the pencil which had to be somewhere near my feet. No luck, so I dip fieldwork pencils in fluoro yellow paint to avoid that problem.
I’m from the US and grew up with the classic yellow #2 pencil in the 1950s, but Faber-Castell pencils have my favorite woodcase pencils for many years now. I like their mechanical pencils too, and I always buy them in the traditional Faber-Castell dark green.
When I was in grade school, back before kids had to buy their own supplies, everything was provided by the teacher. The pencils were fat and Red, not yellow, and had no eraser. We were provided with a basket of pink rectangle erasers to share. Once I got to middle school, things changed and students had to bring everything of their own, including more to share with the rest of the classes. By then, mechanical pencils were all the rage. Honestly, I never did use the yellow pencil in my studies.
Two things I noticed here; first, Borrowdale in England, where the graphite was found, is just 6 miles from where the Derwent pencil factory is located in Keswick. Clearly not a coincidence. Second, the Koh-I-Noor brand; as an artist I've heard of them as suppliers of low-cost coloured pencils, paints etc, but I always assumed them to be a fairly modern cheap Chinese brand. I had no idea they originated in Europe so long ago.
What is the difference in the no2 pencil and the no1 or the no 2nd a half? And so on? I understand that the lead is a harder texture and just a harder quality than than that of the other no? Sometimes I will see a pencil without a no? Painted on it?
When I was a child in parochial school in the 1950s, the pencils in the supply closet were different colors and you could choose which color you wanted. They were just as good as the yellow ones.
I use 'em everyday. I'm addicted to Penny Press word puzzle books so I've got yellow pencils all about the house, as well as reading glasses in every corner.
The wood that goes between the paint and the lead is not mentioned here. Nearly all pencils worldwide are made from incense cedar, a species that grows in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. I did a bit of research on artist-grade pencils and found out that there is a huge range of pencil quality and materials -- it's an interesting experiment if you can get a variety yourself and do some testing.
Steadtler Noris being yellow/black stripe with either red end or eraser. My favourite was Steadtler Mars a blue coloured professional level pencil. Derwent most popular in UK. I use Carandache Grafwood.
I would like to see the history of cardboard boxes. Virtually everything we buy comes in one for transportation and I’ve seen cartons that are unbelievably strong to barely able to retain their product, plus I would suspect it’s the most popular storage container for households.
You know, in our digital-dominated world today, just about the only thing I use a pencil for now is marking a level and location to drill holes for screws or nail picture hangers on the wall.
I went looking for a box or pack of pencils a while ago and was surprised that most stores around here no longer stock pencils ...the younger generation only use ballpoint pens it seems
There're always odd pencils in other colors ( some even wrapped in decorated paper- but they dont sharpen well). However, I taugh school for forty years.......for me, real pencils are just supposed to be yellow! ( And dont forget Red Chief tablets!!!!)
I might be wrong but I always thought that the first pencils were named ‘Kor-I-noor because the difference between the carbon atoms of graphite & that of diamons are almost the same except that diamonds have one more atom that makes it hard, & that Kor-I-noor invented their pencils in the same year that the K-I-N diamond was found…the hexagonal shape of pencils is due to the hexagonal shape of the arrangement of atoms in both diamonds & graphite. Again I might be quite wrong.
There are so many crappy ‘pencils’ on the market today. The wood is crap and the leads break easily during sharpening. The ONLY pencils I use are made by Staedtler. Anything else just doesn’t cut it for me.
At the end of the video you asked for any suggestions for video ideas, so here's one: I've lived in the US and Europe and one thing I noticed and heard people talk about was the differences in the door handles found in each continent. European buildings have door levers and the US has door knobs, you know, the round ones. As a matter of fact, I heard many US military personnel say, "I will going back the Land of Round Door Knobs." Any idea why there is a significant difference in door handles, design and function when in most other areas, the buildings on both continents are more similar than different? Yes, I know both types can be found in the US and Europe, but as a general trend, this is what I have found to be common.
This is really good information and entertaining to watch. I just turned 64 and now I know about the history of the pencils. No. 2 hardness is the most popular no doubt. Had to use that one on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills tests in the 0's . make sure to fill in the entire oval ...or it won't count
This was a great and informative video. Although it provided a wealth of information, there are many other "back stories" that could be told about pencils. Doctor George Whitehead
Next video: why do most yellow pencils have pink erasers
When I started elementary school, the pencils issued to first graders (no kindergarten where I lived back then) were slightly larger in diameter and fully round, had no eraser, were painted blue, and had a thicker graphite core. Progressing to the standard yellow pencil was an achievement.
I can believe that it was originally made to reflect Chinese quality graphite, but I think the real reason it caught on is because it makes the pencil easy to find. Almost nothing else is yellow in our houses or offices (both then and now), so when you're looking for a pencil, it clearly stands out.
Also, I believe it was probably the inspiration for the yellow (American) school bus.
I grew up in Europe and I never saw yellow pencils. In the UK, the nicer pencils were dark green. I never really saw yellow pencils until I came to the USA. To me, yellow pencils are an American thing.
I once accidentally received a book in a membership program. It was called "The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance." I thought pencils were going to be a metaphor, but all 448 pages of small print were actually about the pencil. It was fascinating, actually.
Thanks for having some left handed people in the video. The number 2 pencil is the bane of pencils for us lefties. The soft lead smears as our hand passes over what we have just written.
Not all pencils are made equal. Ticonderoga is a high quality pencil on my list. Some seem to fall apart when trying to sharpen them. Don't judge a pencil by its skin. Rather judge a quality pencil by its character.
I never realized this until watching your video made me think of it… Traditional American school buses are also almost the same shade of yellow. The same symbolism for the pencils also work for school buses - invoking trust, quality, hopefulness, positivity.
25 years ago my daughter’s math teacher told her class all pencils are number 2 unless labeled otherwise. That’s good to know if you have take a test using a scantron form that will only allow a number 2 pencil.
The traditional pencils that I have used, in my nearly 60 years I've never been yellow, because in Australia predominantly it has been the market for the Staedtler Tradition Graphite Pencils, which are red. Now when I do use a pencil, it is a clutch pencil, which is blue.
Yellow pencils must be an American thing.
In the USA, the yellow pencil dominates, but this is not true in other countries.
Yellow pencil evokes old school days.
So fun! I was an old school film animator, and the Dixon Ticonderoga #2 Soft was my weapon of choice. The Pink-Pearl erasure on the end blended and mottled graphite much better than a white plastic one. I loved the specific yellow so much I once painted a bicycle with the exact PMS color and stickered “DIXON” on the down-tube.
Thanks for the very interesting info! I've used these yellow pencils ever since grade school in the 1950s and as a professional artist,former retired NYC fashion illustrator, and now painter. And I still buy Koh-i-Noor art supplies from time to time! That eraser on the end comes in handy! ✏✏✏🎨🖌
There are different types of wood and graphite used in modern pencils. You can feel the difference in the wood when sharpening the pencil. What I consider a substandard wood is hard to sharpen and fragments quite a bit as it peels off. The better wood can be sliced off in very long curls, like peeling an apple with a knife. Likewise, the less good graphite is harder and often doesn't lay down darkly. The better graphite does lay down a very dark line. I've always found the harder wood and graphite in cheap pencils bought at dollar stores.
Fun fact: Koh I Noor in my country (Argentina) is a brand that produces household electric appliances (fridges, washing machines, etc), and it's very well known for a product in particular, so much so the brand itself became the standard name for it: A rotary, top-loading clothesdryer.
The one thing that is agreed upon is that in the late 1800s, when people started painting pencils, the finest graphite in the world was coming from China. And so yellow became a color that was associated with a pencil because it was a way of indicating that your pencil was made with superior Chinese graphite.Apr 15, 2020
Eversharp pencils were made in Chicago. Now that building in Roscoe village is called Pencil Factory Lofts.
Here in Germany one of the largest brands's pencils (Faber-Castell, yes, that Eberhard Faber I think) are dark green. Another brand's pencils\ sides are alternating red and gold. Most pencils have a hexagonal cross section. These days raw wood is pretty popular.
Pencils in Germany are called Bleistift, Blei meaning lead. The explanation I've read is that lead was used for pencils before graphite. No idea if that's actually true. At the same time I kinda doubt lead and graphite were ever confused as lead (11.35 g/cm³) is several times denser than graphite (2.26 g/cm³).
When my oldest son started first grade the nun who taught him would charge kids 3 ¢ to rent a pencil for one day. Was a great teaching aide. My son told me after the first week or two a first grader seldom forgot to have two sharpened #2 pencils. Thought kids accountability. Years later I found out at the end of the year she donated the pencil rent money to a local orphanage.
That's a thorough explanation. Excellent.
I remember drafting class over my years of schooling. Buying pencils and mechanical penciled which were koh-i-noor brand.
You could easily find it in the bottom of a book bag.
Yellow was probably a world choice due to the fact the bright colour could easily be seen, if the pencil were misplaced.
Great and informative video! I knew of Koch-I-Noor from my high school days (1970’s) in drafting class. Koh-I-Noor technical pens were considered the top tier brand, and if someone (their parents!) had the money getting their large set in the round display stand was the pinnacle of tech pens. A step down was Rotring brand which most of us had. I checked on the Blick art supplies web site and they still have these, although I am not sure who would still go through the hassle of using them (and maintaining them so the ink doesn’t dry up).
I’m curious to why they’re number two pencils. Is there such a thing as a number one pencil? Why did they manufacture rubber pencils?
When I taught inner city high school I kept a supply of those colorful pencils they give away at events and conventions. I realized the kids didn’t want to be seen outside the classroom with those. Yellow was the only color they would keep.
I used to work in a pencil factory. Most of them were yellow. A lot of them were not. But I never knew why.
I don’t know most of the things he said I appreciate it. Thank you. I learned something.
Fun fact: A box of pencils back at the turn of the century cost a week’s wages as they were hand produced by pencil artisans.
Pencils need to ditch the pink erasers. All those do is tear up the paper. Years ago I tried the white erasers. What a difference. I never use the pink ones any more.
Thanks for the cool info about pencils.
Ahhh, I always thought that original pencils used real lead until graphite was found to be better.
When did they start putting erasers on them
Very interesting!!!
I enjoy collecting paper pencil boxes. They are cheap and the grafics are fantastic.
I never wondered why pencils were yellow, and I'm a little disappointed in myself by that. Maybe yellow just seemed that perfect? Anyway, I am glad to say that I know now.
I heard the reason legal pads are yellow is yellow relates to a thinking color. Again I have seen white,pink and blue legal pads.
Twice as long as needed but answers an excellent question. Thanks.
Nice story. Thanks!
Mine is orange sometimes.I live in India where colourful pencils are prominently found.
I had heard that at one time, the bright yellow was due to lead chromate (which is yellow) and that was why they were called lead pencils. I had my doubts.
Ironically, in China most pencils are not yellow.😂
Faber-Castell pencils are/were usually green, so when you dropped them on the grass it took a long time to find them again! As a student doing fieldwork, this happened to me and I sent 2 hours searching for the pencil which had to be somewhere near my feet. No luck, so I dip fieldwork pencils in fluoro yellow paint to avoid that problem.
I’m from the US and grew up with the classic yellow #2 pencil in the 1950s, but Faber-Castell pencils have my favorite woodcase pencils for many years now. I like their mechanical pencils too, and I always buy them in the traditional Faber-Castell dark green.
We have green pencils in France and Germany.
When I was in grade school, back before kids had to buy their own supplies, everything was provided by the teacher. The pencils were fat and Red, not yellow, and had no eraser. We were provided with a basket of pink rectangle erasers to share. Once I got to middle school, things changed and students had to bring everything of their own, including more to share with the rest of the classes. By then, mechanical pencils were all the rage. Honestly, I never did use the yellow pencil in my studies.
Two things I noticed here; first, Borrowdale in England, where the graphite was found, is just 6 miles from where the Derwent pencil factory is located in Keswick. Clearly not a coincidence. Second, the Koh-I-Noor brand; as an artist I've heard of them as suppliers of low-cost coloured pencils, paints etc, but I always assumed them to be a fairly modern cheap Chinese brand. I had no idea they originated in Europe so long ago.
great video! learned so much!
I used to live in Pecilvania !
I remember in school teachers said use # 2 pencil for test or quick test I never did, I have had always used soft point.
In Jamaica we don’t even know the maker or the country that the pencil is from but once it’s a yellow No:2.5 it’s considered the best pencil ✏️
These brands are still prominent in the art store with specialty pencils
What is the difference in the no2 pencil and the no1 or the no 2nd a half? And so on? I understand that the lead is a harder texture and just a harder quality than than that of the other no? Sometimes I will see a pencil without a no? Painted on it?
When I was a child in parochial school in the 1950s, the pencils in the supply closet were different colors and you could choose which color you wanted. They were just as good as the yellow ones.
Where did we get #2 pencils and what do those numbers mean?
It has to do with the hardness of the lead in the pencil, some being softer like HB and harder sharper ones used for drafting etc.
I use 'em everyday. I'm addicted to Penny Press word puzzle books so I've got yellow pencils all about the house, as well as reading glasses in every corner.
The wood that goes between the paint and the lead is not mentioned here. Nearly all pencils worldwide are made from incense cedar, a species that grows in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. I did a bit of research on artist-grade pencils and found out that there is a huge range of pencil quality and materials -- it's an interesting experiment if you can get a variety yourself and do some testing.
How about making a video about why No. 2 lead in the pencil is the common one preferred.
We have that on our list! :)
Harder to lose a yellow pencil ✏️
Steadtler Noris being yellow/black stripe with either red end or eraser. My favourite was Steadtler Mars a blue coloured professional level pencil. Derwent most popular in UK. I use Carandache Grafwood.
Thank you very much.
I would like to see the history of cardboard boxes. Virtually everything we buy comes in one for transportation and I’ve seen cartons that are unbelievably strong to barely able to retain their product, plus I would suspect it’s the most popular storage container for households.
I remember than when I was in eleentary school 60 years ago, "yellow pencils" were part of the required school supplies we had to buy.
I can't live another minute without knowing the answer.
You know, in our digital-dominated world today, just about the only thing I use a pencil for now is marking a level and location to drill holes for screws or nail picture hangers on the wall.
Thank you
I went looking for a box or pack of pencils a while ago and was surprised that most stores around here no longer stock pencils ...the younger generation only use ballpoint pens it seems
Great video! TFS! 👍
Great info, thanks.
There're always odd pencils in other colors ( some even wrapped in decorated paper- but they dont sharpen well). However, I taugh school for forty years.......for me, real pencils are just supposed to be yellow! ( And dont forget Red Chief tablets!!!!)
Nice background. Now how are hard and soft pencils created and measured?
What’s the difference between #1 and #2 grade of pencils?
But what about the erasers on top?
Wow ❗ very interesting 🔥💯👍
That was a neat video.
3:05 … nice to see where we get HB, 2H etc 👍
I might be wrong but I always thought that the first pencils were named ‘Kor-I-noor because the difference between the carbon atoms of graphite & that of diamons are almost the same except that diamonds have one more atom that makes it hard, & that Kor-I-noor invented their pencils in the same year that the K-I-N diamond was found…the hexagonal shape of pencils is due to the hexagonal shape of the arrangement of atoms in both diamonds & graphite. Again I might be quite wrong.
There are so many crappy ‘pencils’ on the market today. The wood is crap and the leads break easily during sharpening.
The ONLY pencils I use are made by Staedtler. Anything else just doesn’t cut it for me.
HOW ABOUT A SEGMENT ABOUT HOW AND WHY AND WHEN ERASERS WERE ADDED TO THE END OF PENCILS?
Why is the color of School bus yellow. Does it have any relation with yellow pencil.
Hi we have a video about this! You can check it out here :) ua-cam.com/video/28uNRsOjlOg/v-deo.htmlsi=ucjk9uuuB8nIg-FM
American school buses?
I once heard NASA spent millions developing a pen that would work in outer space, the Russians just used pencils.
You should have talked about how and when the eraser was added.
Hi! We have a recent video about this :)
Mine are all red , blue and black. Never had a yellow one
At the end of the video you asked for any suggestions for video ideas, so here's one:
I've lived in the US and Europe and one thing I noticed and heard people talk about was the differences in the door handles found in each continent. European buildings have door levers and the US has door knobs, you know, the round ones. As a matter of fact, I heard many US military personnel say, "I will going back the Land of Round Door Knobs."
Any idea why there is a significant difference in door handles, design and function when in most other areas, the buildings on both continents are more similar than different?
Yes, I know both types can be found in the US and Europe, but as a general trend, this is what I have found to be common.
This is really good information and entertaining to watch. I just turned 64 and now I know about the history of the pencils. No. 2 hardness is the most popular no doubt. Had to use that one on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills tests in the 0's . make sure to fill in the entire oval ...or it won't count
Well that was interesting. Now what the significance about number 2 pencils?
Some of the more famous 'modern' pencils were in colors like green (APC/Venus), black (EF/Blackwing) and blue (Staedtler/Mars). :3
If the pencil or not yellow, I would never be able to find it after setting it down.
About a month ago I randomly wanted to learn why LEGAL PADS are YELLOW? I found several theories but nothing definitive.
What is the significance of the pencil being made in 17 degrees 2:30 or 18 degrees 4:10?
Any clue regarding the yellow colour of the plastic casing of a Bic ball pen ?
How about the history of the fountain pen?
Plot twist pencils are painted yellow to match the school busses😂
My guess would have been very simple. School buses are yellow and pencils are a school staple for young kids and for tests for older kids.
This was a great and informative video. Although it provided a wealth of information, there are many other "back stories" that could be told about pencils. Doctor George Whitehead
What species of wood is used for pencils? Some pencils have a distinct smell when sharpened but not all do. Love your site.
Cedar is the most common wood for pencils because it is soft enough to sharpen but won't bend under pressure from writing. It also doesn't rot.
why is #2 the standard pencil?
2:07 everyone
i was waiting for you to explain why pencils are shaped the way they are -- flat sides so they dont roll off a desk/table.
The question is,Why does the graphite break every time you sharpen them????????????????